Page 6 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

I glanced toward Isaiah. “It’s not that easy.”

“Good luck telling her that.”

“Cameron is the only other one I made like her in a thousand years. I’ve tried. I just end up with beasts.”

Isaiah nodded and opened his mouth to respond but was cut off before he could say anything.

“Something you two wish to share?” Nismera asked.

We turned toward her and shook our heads. Isaiah extended a hand and gestured, urging her to go on.

“Good,” Nismera said. “Then, if you two don’t mind, please pay attention.”

Her smile was anything but sweet or kind. It never was. Sometimes, I wondered exactly what Unir made her from. I always assumed a cold, dying star. That’s what she felt like, even with every soft word or mild joke. She was empty. The only emotion she displayed that was not manufactured for effect was rage, and it swirled ceaselessly behind her eyes.

Nismera folded her arms, turning back to Elianna. “Why has the incentive increased?”

Elianna pushed a map near Nismera and leaned over the table, pointing to a region past the stars. “It would appear, Your Highness, The Eye seems more determined since the slaughter in the East.”

All eyes turned toward me.

I held a hand up. “I haven’t been to the East.”

“No,” Nismera said calmly, the word dripping with hatred. “I have reports of an assault on some legion officials making their rounds in the far eastern tip of Tarr. I sent soldiers to see what they could find, and they did not return. But you know who was spotted? Eyewitnesses said a large, dark, scaled Ig’Morruthen flew across the sky before landing. She then proceeded to dismember my loyal soldiers and spread their remains across the field in a warning.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, along with the hint of amusement and the tiny flame of pride at just what she could still accomplish.

Nismera clasped her hands, cocking her head toward Elianna. “What was spelled for me once more?”

Elianna looked as if she wished to be anywhere but here as she folded her hands. “Umm, come get me,” Elianna cleared her throat, looking around the room, “bitch.”

She looked at Nismera, afraid she was about to be reduced to ashes as if she called her that herself. No one spoke in the room, and all eyes were on me. However, I did catch Isaiah’s look of utter shock. No one spoke to Nismera that way or ever had and lived long.

“If that is true,” I said. “I can handle her.”

“Handle.” Nismera smiled, tapping her fingers against the table. No one moved or even breathed. “Samkiel’s mate still lives. Even if he does not, she will wage war in his name.” She paused, the line in her jaw clenching. “Do you know what happens to the psyche of an amata when the other is slain? No, you don’t, because you don’t have one.”

My fists clenched on my thighs, my foot tapping. It was a jab and a dirty one to throw at me. Yet I knew how Mera spoke in her chamber meetings. I knew she had to show she did not pick favorites, even if it was her own blood. To them and everyone else, I was merely a High Guard who disobeyed orders.

“One can go insane with grief to the point of not existing, or they can rage and burn worlds, and it seems she has chosen the latter.” Nismera prattled on. “This is why I wanted her dead the second he was, or better yet, dead long before. Do you see the problem, Kaden? Your wishes to keep her will likely result in an uprising.”

No other general or commander turned toward me, but I felt the room shift. The discomfort was apparent in the sound of shuffling feet and the clench of scaled hands. Those with tentacles wrapped them around their bodies protectively.

“You told me to mold her, make her over, and I did. Now, it is an issue. You wanted a killer. I created one.”

“They are calling her winged death. You know how names spread. They build, fuel, and feed into imaginations. I do not want The Eye thinking they have any leeway over me or my kingdom.”

“I have a plan for that.” My voice echoed into the silence, and every eye was on me.

“Care to enlighten the rest of us?” It was a member of The Order that made the challenge. I recognized him, but his name, like most of these people, I didn’t fucking care to remember.

“No.” I smiled widely at him, making sure the tips of my fangs showed. “That is information meant for only the highest ranking to hear. You and The Order do not make the cut, to say the least.”

The room filled with tension.

Nismera sighed and shook her head. “Our main concern is capturing Harwork Bay at the moment. The remaining threats will be dealt with by the higher-ranking officials, as my brother has so politely said.”

No one questioned Nismera. They never did because to do so was to risk their lives. The room turned back toward her and continued talks of siege and war.

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